Category: Relationships & Realities

Note: My emotions may not have made this my most eloquent post The story: a four-year old boy fell into the enclosure of a 17-year-old silverback gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo. When the gorilla behaved like a gorilla, dragging the boy through the moat of its enclosure, zoo officials shot and killed him. The boy … More Harambe: A Tragedy of Society

My Second Graduation For the second time, I have completed my undergraduate degree, in the same program. As I wrote about here, I received a bachelor of arts in gender studies last spring after four years of university. Only, in order to receive that degree at that time, I actually cut a year off of … More My Second Graduation, A New Chapter, and Grounding

I received this email last semester: Your instructors this year tell me that you are performing very strongly in your courses and might be a candidate for graduate school. I realize that you may not have considered graduate school as an option, but it may be well worth considering and we do offer financial support to … More Recognizing Shame: Lessons from Brené Brown

I’m not special. I’ve had body image issues for as long as I can remember. Throughout my teenage years, starting when I was 12, I didn’t go anywhere without making sure my stomach was sucked in at all times. Until very recently, I started and ended every day on the bathroom scale, and praised/shamed myself accordingly. I … More Why In The World Do I Have Body Image Issues?

I’m generally afraid of a lot of things…snakes, frogs, fish, turtles, secret unknown lake-dwelling creatures; bears, wolves, moose and dear in rutting season; killers living in the woods, tornados, fire, loss, injury (to myself or my loved ones), failure, and pretty much fear itself. Most of the time I think my fears help to keep me safe, … More To My Fears, A Thank-You Note

I was nineteen the last time I celebrated Father’s Day, probably with a card and maybe some small gift; a hug and a kiss. If I let myself, I can muster the faint, shower-fresh smell in the crisscrossing creases and lines of his neck and almost remember what it feels like to be squeezed back by … More The Presence of Absence: A Note On Father’s Day